Energy Healing with Crystals, Reiki & Sound
Sometime in 2017 I became attracted to crystals in a huge way! I’m not exactly sure how it started. On a trip to India the year prior, I had acquired a set of crystals with chakra symbols carved on them from Amma’s ashram. I thought they were quite beautiful and I vowed to us them…
Sleep Ritual – preparing to rest easy
It’s very important to consider how we prepare our body and mind for a good night’s rest. Often we overlook how powerful and life-changing it can be. So, I would like to share my personal bedtime ritual with you and some of the practices that have helped me along the way.
Loving ourselves more
Valentine’s day is coming and just like Chet Baker, I think every day is Valentine’s Day. I love seeing candy hearts everywhere because I have a sweet tooth, but on a deeper level, I think it’s a nice reminder to celebrate love in all its shapes and forms, not only the romantic kind. In a…
We broke the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest, human lotus flower!
Being that my yoga site is called “InnerLotus” – it is only natural that I would be extremely excited to take part in the Asian Art Museum’s effort to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest, human lotus flower! Yes! Hooray! I am there! We gathered on Saturday, July 15, 2017 at…
Attitude of the practice
When we take a yoga class, emphasis is typically placed on the physical posture. We also see this promoted on the cover of yoga magazines, articles and books. Unfortunately this emphasis on only the physical aspect – creeps into our personal practice in class and at home. If we want to truly go “deeper” in…
Yoga Exhibit, Asian Art Museum
April 12, 2014 – Namaste and many thanks to my students who accompanied me and our wonderful guide Billy, on a private tour of the Asian Art Museum’s Yoga exhibit. They told me it is the first exhibit of its kind that attempts to show through multi-media artifacts how perspectives of yoga have transformed through…
Healing Waters
When I think about the holiday season in winter, I do not feel the drive the be social and outgoing. Instead I feel like it is a time to go inward. To reflect on the year and to renew my spirit for the coming year. I often feel like a little bear who wants to…
Reflecting on my Father in corpse pose
What does a yogi do when someone they loves dies? According to B.K.S Iyengar, “the yogi is never concerned with death, he is only concerned with life…” Yet every time we come to our practice we end with “Savasana” – Corpse Pose. Often, some students come to my yoga class and leave early, mostly right…
Yoga on the road
Over the holidays and New Years break I hit the road to southern California. Sometimes breaking out of my daily environment helps me to see life clearly and creates a new space for reflection. Doing yoga on the road however can be a challenge. I usually bring a travel mat with me and try to…
Jennifer’s yoga white boards
Here is my latest yoga white board. I have been using these illustrations in class lately to explain various concepts of yoga philosophy. Simple diagrams help me to understand because I am a visual person: At first glance, these diagrams appear to be very simple concepts, but in my experience, upon closer examination, they are…
Ways to raise your Prana
In yoga, the word “Prana” means our “Vital life force energy.” In Chinese medicine they call this force “Chi” or “Qi” and in Japanese – “Ki” as in “Reiki” energy-healing practices. Prana is a comparable term in Indian medicine. Prana energy is crucial to our experience of overall health and a sense of wellbeing. It…
Too many styles of yoga – simplified!
If you are new to the practice of yoga it may be mind-boggling to try to navigate between the different styles of yoga while trying to decide where to start in the first place. After all what’s the difference anyway? Isn’t yoga just yoga!? I often have to field questions from new students who are…
Going on a Yoga Retreat – It’s all a state of mind
Upon organizing a yoga retreat next weekend, the idea of going on a retreat has been on my mind lately… Certain questions such as “what does it mean to go on a yoga retreat or to take a retreat in general?” have come up for me. Hearing the word “retreat” almost sounds like we’re trying…
Yoga for Women – Monthly Cycle and Pre-Natal
Recently the issues of menstruation and pregnancy have come up in my classes, so I figured I would write a little outline of my notes to help my students find it all in one place. Hope this is a starting place to guide you and feel free to ask me any questions you may have…
Surya Namaskara – Sun Salutations
Surya Namaskara – Sun Salutations – the sequence of 12 postures we practice as a warm-up in the beginning of class, are a wonderful to begin a simple home practice. It is recommended for beginners to practice 2-3 rounds (one round is practiced on the right side – right foot steps back and forward into…
Counting breath cycles during Pranayama
While practicing pranayama (prana = vital life force energy, yama = control or expansion of) it’s useful to count the breaths to sustain a rhythm and also keep track of how long and how many breaths have taken place. One way is to count by chanting “Om” and a number internally. For example: “Om 1,…
The 7 Chakras – Energy Wheels
The Chakra system is part of the “Pranamaya Kosha” – our vital energy body (see post on the 5 koshas). The word Chakra means “wheel” or “vortex” – which can be a useful visualization of the seven energetic centers along the spine. The gross form of the chakras are the nervous and circulatory systems. Our…
The 5 Prana Vayus – the 5 Winds
Prana – The Vital Life Force energy. The Prana Vayus (the five winds), are subtle channels in which prana is distributed throughout our being. Below is a brief summary: Prana Vayu – Felt and distributed by the Inhalation and organs of respiration from the heart to the throat (upward flow of prana) Apana Vayu -…
The 3 Nadis
As we start to focus on the breath, Prana – our vital life force, we’re drawn to the subtle aspects of ourselves. Breathing through the right and left nostrils, Ida and Pingala Nadi, have profound affects on our energy and mind state which fluctuates throughout the day. A Nadi is an energy channel. There are…
The 5 Koshas – Sheaths
The 5 Koshas (Sheaths) are a great way to examine our practice and develop our “witness consciousness,” in the beginning stages of the practice. Like many paths and lists that lead the way for a practitioner, we learn it, become aware and then hopefully move on to experience all 5 levels and beyond! In my personal…
The 8 Limbs – The Tree of Yoga
The Path of Yoga was first laid out in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (Sutra = “threads”) written in Sanskrit in the second century B.C. It is the first book to attempt to communicate the actual practice of yoga. There are many interpretations of it. I like the translation by Swami Satchidananda from Integral Yoga school. They also print…
InnerLotus Yoga 